Youths, 18 and 20 years old, convicted of shoplifting

Two young men have been convicted of theft after they admitted to shoplifting from a number of clothing outlets.

Catriel Mark Refalo, 18, and Neeson Abela, 20, were charged with pilfering several items of clothing from Bortex and Zara outlets in Sliema and St Julian's, as well as with handling stolen goods. Refalo alone was also accused of stealing from Springfield and Hilfiger Denim at Tigne Point.

Police Inspector Trevor Micallef, prosecuting, told magistrate Charmaine Galea how the youths would either remove security tags from the clothes or place the items in a tinfoil-lined paper bag.

Both of the men accused pleaded guilty.

The court sentenced Abela to seven months imprisonment, suspended for two years and ordered him to pay the sum of €238 within six months.

The magistrate noted that Abela already had a number of prior convictions and had progressed from a probation order to a conditional discharge and now to a suspended sentence. “The next step is an effective prison sentence,”warned the magistrate.

Refalo received a two-year probation order, because of his clean criminal record. He was ordered to pay €291 within six months.

Lawyer Mark Zammit Cutajar was defence counsel to both accused.